Dissidia Final Fantasy NT was the action RPG that all Final Fantasy fans dreamt off. Ever since it was launched for the arcades in Japan, the game has gotten an enormous surge of hype when it was announced for the console. Now that the game is here, we’ve even picked up the Ultimate Box set just to see what’s inside. You can check out our unboxing video below:

The Story (spoilers below)

To start off, the Dissidia series started with Dissidia Final Fantasy that was released for the PSP back in 2008. The story begins with an unending war between two Gods, Cosmos and Chaos. Both of these Gods have been against each other since eternity and every single time one of them dies, the fallen God will be revived by the dragon, Shinryu, and the war begins anew. The Gods have the power to call upon heroes from different realms; 10 for each God, to fight for them.

The heroes that were summoned has fought countless times for the Gods apparently, but their memories were all wiped out by Shinryu everytime either side loses. However it all changed in the latest installment, Dissidia Final Fantasy NT. This time, the heroes still had their memories intact from their previous life in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy which was the 12th cycle. Now in the 13th cycle war in Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, they are resummoned by Materia, Goddess of Protection and Spiritus, God of Destruction.

In Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, there’s a new conflict that was born from their previous war in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. Due to the memories retained in the heroes, they set out to uncover the cause for the phenomenon. Instead of Cosmos and Chaos that summoned them, the heroes discovered that Materia and Spiritus was a manifestation created from the strong desires of the previous Gods. In the process, the heroes had also discovered a new threat which are the “planesgorgers”.

The “planesgorgers” are a manifestation of Shinryu, which threatens to absorb the world’s energy and eradicate the world (a bigger issue than the current war). At this point, the heroes from both sides formed a truce to vanquish Shinryu himself, which allowed the heroes to return to their respective worlds and leaving behind their duplicates with their memories of the world to fight on the Gods’ behalf.

All these might seemed confusing but it’s much clearer now thanks to the “remake” from Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy which tells the pre-quel to Dissidia Final Fantasy and a “remake” of the game’s story as well.

The Gameplay

The battle system is the same as its predecessors from the Dissidia series which comprise of two kinds of attack; Bravery and HP. Bravery points are acquired using the Bravery Attack while HP Attacks are attacks that deals direct damage towards their HP. The amount of damage dealt is equal to one’s Bravery points. By reducing the Bravery points to 0, it will inflict Break status which prevents the enemy from collecting Bravery points and dealing HP damage. Of course like any action RPGs, when a character’s HP reaches 0, they die.

With the new revamped battle system, Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is now a 3vs3 battle unlike the previous titles of 1vs1 battles. Players will control a single character while the other two will be AI controlled. Players can also block attacks now but the shield deteriorates slowly. Every time an attack is blocked, the shield will start to break. The deterioration of the shield is reflected by the color which changes from green, orange and then red. Of course another alternative instead of blocking is to dodge the attacks.

EX Skills are also included in the game which are skills that can be configured to bring for each battle. With the addition of Summons, players can now summon a powerful Esper to aid in battles. However players will need to destroy a Crystal to fill the Summoning Gauge and then Summon an Esper.

Whether you’re new to the Dissidia series or not, the game is pretty enjoyable once you get the hang of the controls by going through all of the tutorials. However the battle modes and the lack of story gameplay makes it seem like Square Enix is trying to fit Dissidia Final Fantasy NT into the eSports scene.

Check out our gameplay video below:

The Verdict

It was all cool but when it came to Online Multiplayer Co-Op Mode, battles can be messy. Because it is a 3vs3, you’d be paired up with 2 other players online who usually do not know what they’re doing. Basically, there’s no co-operation with the other two players even when it’s a co-op mode. Players would either run off alone fighting against 3 on their own or fighting against a hero that’s countered by its opposing class. Yes, as you might already know there are classes that each hero belonged to which separates them from Vanguard, Marksman, Assassin or Specialist.

Moving on, the Story Mode are unlockables. You heard that right. Unlockables… which means you have to collect something (Memoria) in exchange for the progress of the Story Mode. The Story Mode are not even playable. They are cutscenes that tells the story of what’s happening in the game and only some are accompanied with a boss battle.

For a Final Fantasy game where we usually play for the Story, Dissidia isn’t something of the RPG genre that we know of. Final Fantasy games have always been an RPG driven by its rich story and strategy battle-system. As for Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, it is still a strategic battle game. However the story is not something that we immerse ourselves to play in, instead it’s just a series of cutscenes that form a short movie of Dissidia Final Fantasy NT.

Rather than a fighter game which is fast-paced packed with action, Dissidia Final Fantasy NT did not come close to that. It is more of a fan service that showcases what the Final Fantasy heroes can do. If that is Square Enix’s intention, then they have nailed it.